Better Safe Than Sorry: Travel Mishaps Do Happen

Travel mishaps – we all have them. Whether it be missing a flight, having something stolen, having your luggage lost, or needing to see a doctor overseas.
I try to focus on the good parts of travel. I’ll remember great meals, good people, exceptional service and those hotels or airlines with that little je ne said quoi so it took me a while to remember my mishaps, but they’re there lurking under the surface.

Like the time I had problems with my wisdom tooth when I was in Europe. After suffering through bad tooth pain on and off for nearly a month the problem finally exacerbated and I ended up with an infected wisdom tooth (painful, but not as gross as it sounds!) just as I was heading back to Australia. I had googled best dentists in Perth and after calling and hearing their rates, decided to try to hold off until I made it home. Then, on my flight between London and Dublin one side of my face swelled up so badly that my Dad, after seeing the picture I sent my Mum, thought I’d developed Bell’s Palsy and wanted me to go to hospital.

With three flights still to go before I was home I needed to see a doctor in the US and seeing him, as well as the additional expenses, added up rather quickly – an extra night in New York, the cost of changing three flights, medication and a second doctors visit in Vancouver before flying home – it was a costly experience but having good travel health insurance, which can be found and purchased easily online, saved the day as it paid for the bulk of the bills.

Then there was the time I had my camera stolen in Las Vegas. Arriving in Las Vegas a day late and late for an event I left my laptop, camera and other technology laid out on the desk of the hotel I was staying at. Not needing my camera for the week I didn’t think twice about where I’d put it, thinking it was in the depths of my suitcase, and thought nothing of its location until the night before I was leaving Vegas.The camera, that I’d put behind my laptop on the desk in the room, was gone.
Why they hadn’t taken my other technology I guess I’ll never know but I did have travel insurance that covered the cost of stolen items and so a few days later, before a work trip that I needed a camera for, I bought a Nikon D7000 that has been locked away in my suitcase or the hotel safe every time I travel.

Unfortunately lost luggage is not an uncommon thing. Look at TV shows like Baggage Battles to get an idea of how much luggage is lost in one airport each year, let alone across the world!
I’d never had lost luggage before, something I prided myself on as a frequent traveller, but that all changed in January when I flew from New York to London and my baggage was lost. I probably should have ended my journey there but I was determined to visit Russia – a place I’ve wanted to visit since I was a child – and so, despite missing my connecting flight and being without winter clothes, I rebooked onto the next flight.

In hindsight, I probably should have stayed in London until they located my bag, eight long and very cold days later and just hours before I was set to take the train to Helsinki for a work convention. The airline would only cover a small portion of the clothing costs so once again my travel insurance came to the rescue to help cover some of the costs associated with the changes in my travels and some of my replacement winter clothing.

Though we hope for the best we need to protect ourselves for the worst and if you want to be fully prepared before travelling, even if just a few times a year, then protect yourself with quality travel insurance. It’s something that’s too often overlooked by frequent travellers, especially travel health insurance, but saved my bank balance countless times over the years and will continue to into the future because I’d rather spend my money on experiences than doctors bills, replacement cameras or lost luggage.

Are you going on Holiday soon? Discover that not all travel insurance is created equal. Check out Bupa and discover the difference.
Best of all if you’re a Bupa health care member (like me!) you can receive 15% off your travel insurance policy!!

Nicole is a frequent flying (sometimes) freelance writer with a love of aviation, cultural travel, and affordable luxury. When not studying towards her Masters or planning the next adventure she works as Digital Coordinator at one of Australia's top sports teams.

You are right. It is always better to get insurance. I currently don’t because I accidentally let it slip a couple of days and the stupid insurance company would not let me renew it without returning home. It took so much money to get out of NZ! Let alone fly back and then fly out again! So now I just don’t have any.

Hear, hear, I recently did a Eurotrip including Running of the Bulls, white water rafting, and Croatia Sail- all things that could be potentially dangerous. Finding the right insurance was paramount. I was lucky enough to hear from some awesome British bloggers before my trip who pointed me in the right direction for decent cover.

I can hardly believe that some people don’t take out travel insurance, you can be as careful as you like but some things are totally out of your control. We had a guy on one of our tours who didn’t have insurance, we were travelling by bus for long portions of the day. What happened if we crashed? Not that I didn’t trust our driver, but you just never know.

Wow, it does sound like your travel insurance has helped a lot! Unfortunately for me most of my travel mishaps are the kind that you can’t really insure against. Like getting locked out of a hotel room at 3 in the morning…

Subscribe & Follow

Search the site

Newsletter

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Get notified when there's new content!

Leave this field empty if you're human:

As seen on

Live like a local when you travel

AV Geek? Airportag has you covered!

Some links on Bitten by the Travel Bug contain affiliate referrals. By clicking through, I'll earn a small commission at no additional expense to you. All items I share are products I personally use and like!